The No.21 ranked University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team returned home to Romano Gymnasium and held it down to come away with a victory against the No.24 ranked Winona State University Warriors in this afternoon's Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) matchup.

Halftime: UMD (42) - WSU (34)

The game started out in an even battle, with the Bulldogs holding onto just a one point lead after the first five minutes before a Katona layup started off a run of seven unanswered points. WSU would be able to close the lead to three points over the next three minutes, but would be halted by three shots from outside the arc from Blair contributing to a 13-2 run from the Bulldogs. UMD would benefit off of three of their six free throw shots in the final five minutes to take an eight point lead with them into the intermission.

UMD would shoot 15-28 (53.6%) from the field, 5-10 (50%) from outside the arc, and 7-15 (46.7%) from the charity line throughout the first half. The troubles for WSU would stem from their 10 personal fouls throughout the twenty minutes, allowing UMD more than double their amount of free throw attempts.  

Final Score: UMD (73) - WSU (62)

Another WSU would allow Blair to kick off the second half scoring with a successful free throw. UMD's lead would close to one point, but would expand back to seven after a Andrews layup kicked off a run of six unanswered points. The Bulldogs would ride out this lead through the final minutes of the game, scoring 15-18 with the Warriors before a seven point run with a Middleton three pointer would extend their lead to 11 to end the game. 

The Bulldogs would end the game shooting 24-50 (48%) from the field, 7-17 (41.2%) from three point range, and 18-30 (60%) from the free throw line. The Bulldogs surely benefitted from the 22 WSU personal fouls while also capturing 15 of their points off of the 11 Warrior turnovers. 

Top Performers

Today's Player of the Game honors go to graduate student guard Drew Blair with a game high 26 total points, shooting 7-17 (41.2%) from the field with four shots from three point range. Senior forward Charlie Katona led the game with five assists, four steals, and one block while shooting 4-9 (44.4%) from the field for 11 points. 

Looking Ahead

Men's basketball will head out on a quick road trip to Mankato to take on the nationally ranked MSU Mavericks before breaking for the holidays. The Bulldogs will tip off on Tuesday, Dec. 19, at 6:00 PM.